Animated feature ChaO is will open Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film on July 10 in New York.
Fresh from its world premiere at the Annecy festival and ahead of its Japanese theatrical release in August, ChaO will be the Opening Night film for Japan Cuts.
ChaO is produced by Japanese animation outfit Studio 4ºC and presented in partnership with Gkids.
Studio 4ºC was founded in 1986 and has produced titles like Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet, and also co-produced ThunderCats with Warner Bros. Animation.
Japan Cuts, North America’s largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema, will mark its 18th edition this year and run from July 10 to 20.
Directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, ChaO is a hand-drawn cyberpunk fairy tale set in near-future Shanghai where humans coexist with mermen.
The film follows Stephan, a regular office worker at a shipbuilding company, who is suddenly proposed to by Chao – a princess from the mermaid kingdom. Soon, Stephan finds himself living together with Chao, and both strike up an unlikely romance.
The film features a voice cast starring Ouji Suzuka and Anna Yamada.
